To create a high-quality flooring that will last for many years, you need to ensure evenness of the rigidity of the base. If this is not done, the floor from the piece parts will begin to creak, shift, joints between the elements will break and cracks will appear. Laying the laminate on uneven wooden floors must necessarily be accompanied by certain preparatory work.
Unevenness detection
Before starting work with your own hands, it is worth assessing the condition of the coating, identifying the presence of damage and deformation. It is important that the surface is not wet or exposed to rot and mold. If such areas are found, you will have to replace them.
It is important to determine what types of irregularities adversely affect the laminate.. Laying on uneven floors with cracks and cracks is possible. It is only important to control that the opening does not exceed 5 cm, otherwise repairs will be required. The greatest danger is the difference in height. They lead to the violation of the fastening between the parts of the laminate and the appearance of cracks in it. Such defects will need to be repaired with your own hands, to level the old floor before putting a new one.
There are several tools that are designed to check horizontality. Identify how uneven the floor in the room can be using the following devices:
- Laser level. Most accurate and improves execution speed. It is important to learn how to work with this device. In most cases, it will not work for do-it-yourselfers, since not everyone will be able to handle it. In addition, the device is expensive, there is no point in buying it for one repair. It is best if the coating is laid on an uneven floor using simpler tools.
- Hydraulic (water) level. Also distinguished by accuracy. The device is as simple as possible. In principle, such a device can be made with your own hands. Only a thin transparent tube of a sufficiently large length and water will be required. Working with the hydraulic level is more convenient for two. The essence of the method is the principle of communicating vessels, the water level in which is always the same. One edge of the tube is fixed and a zero mark is marked, and deviations are determined using the second.
- Bubble level. The device consists of a case with different lengths (in order to put the coating on your own hands it is convenient to use the device 1 or 2 meters long). There is a hole on the rail and a bubble chamber. When placing the device on an uneven old floor, determine the extent of the problem using a bubble.
- The simplest version of the device for checking evenness is the rule. It is a long rail. The principle of operation is similar to the previous option. The rule must be put on the old uneven floor and check if there are gaps. A ruler can measure their size.
Further actions should take into account the size of the height differences and the type of rough coating.
Base alignment methods
Preparing a wooden floor for a laminate with your own hands can be carried out in several ways. Laying on uneven floors involves the use of the following methods, depending on the defects in the substrate:
- substrates from various materials (small irregularities);
- mix leveling;
- PVA glue and sawdust;
- cycling;
- plywood laying.
Each method should be considered separately.
Backing
You can smooth out small deviations with materials such as:
- isolon (or foamed polyethylene, the cheapest options);
- polystyrene with a layer of foil on top;
- wood tiles;
- porous polymer masses;
- technical cork substrates (not resistant to moisture, require additional measures).
Laying on uneven floors involves placing perpendicular to the direction of the laminate panels. It is important to choose the right thickness. Materials from 2 to 10 mm are available for sale. It is best to prefer a layer of 2-5 mm. In addition to the main function, the substrate will play the role of cushioning and sound insulation. It is not necessary to lay the material in several layers to increase these characteristics, this is a violation of technology. When laying a too thick substrate under the laminate, the risk of disturbing the attachment points of one plate to another increases. This is due to the fact that the thicker the material, the greater its deformation under compression.
When choosing the thickness of the substrate, the thickness of the finishing board is also taken into account. For example, to level the floor under the laminate with a thickness of 8-10 mm, you can use the thickest material with a thickness of 10 mm.
The use of mixtures for leveling
In this case, ready-made mixes for bulk floors or cement-based compositions can be used. The purchased mixture is prepared according to the instructions on the package. To make a cement mortar, you need to take 1 part of the binder to 4 parts of sand and move them together. After that, water is added.
To level the floor with cement, you need to set the level of the top of the fill. This is usually done by screwing in the screws. Fasteners lead into an uneven floor so that the caps are on the same level. After that, a thread is pulled between them, which will allow to control evenness. Laying the mixture between such tracks is carried out with a shovel and trowel. After completion, you will need to apply a rule that will create a flat surface. This tool is a metal profile, which is held on the surface, removing excess. The solidification of the solution depends on the room temperature. On average, work can be continued after 2 weeks.
The bulk floor hardens faster, but the cost of the self-spreading mixture is higher. It is poured with a layer from 1 to 7 mm, depending on the complexity of the surface. Prior to hardening of the upper layer, the surface is rolled with a needle roller many times. Drying time is from 3 hours to 3 days.
Looping
The method consists in cutting off the top layer of the coating and forming a flat surface. The advantages of the method include:
- speed of work;
- simplicity of technology;
- low cost (costs are required only for the rental of equipment, which without this may be required during the repair).
The disadvantage is a decrease in the thickness of the boardwalk. This can lead to a decrease in its bearing capacity and strength. When performing work, it is important to drive the machine smoothly, without effort and pressure. If this is not done, then the work will not be carried out qualitatively, and new irregularities will appear.
Plywood laying
The method is suitable for equalizing serious differences. Laying can be done in two ways:
- on glue (if you need to align differences to 1 cm);
- by lags (if you need to align differences more than 1 cm).
Adhesive bonding is done after degreasing the surface and priming to increase adhesion. After the glue dries, the plywood sheets are additionally fixed with self-tapping screws to increase reliability.
When laying on lags, the process is more complicated. First you need to clean the base. Fix boards with a cross-section of 15 by 40 mm in one direction in increments of the appropriate sheet sizes. To the wooden flooring, the lags are fixed with self-tapping screws. Next, lay out the plywood. This must be done so that the joint between the sheets falls on the lag.
For both methods, a preliminary cutting of the sheets is performed with their subsequent numbering. The distance between adjacent parts is 2-4 mm, between the flooring and the wall - 10 mm. This is necessary so that when the plywood expands, waves do not appear.
If you align the base correctly, you can start laying the laminate in the usual way. It will only be necessary to take into account the features of the leveling material, since it will become the basis for the flooring.